You raise some good points. At issue is the question of whether an election could ever be overturned or nullified based on massive errors, fraud, incompetence and so on.
Perhaps this is why elections have been run so shoddy because there are effectively no consequences otherwise.
But now in Washington State, we have many mathematicians, statisticians and persons familiar with election intricacies working to get at the bottom of why Dino Rossi was denied his governorship after winning two counts and being certified.
The question of how a third count, a more inaccurate handcount on a paid basis can put Gregoire into the Governor's mansion is a question in the same as your questions.
The questions of why there are allowed more votes (recanvassed) to be included in a more inaccurate handcount than the previous two counts is also a question is the same vein.
All these questions should indicate that the elections process is a mess. Unfortunately, logic and law do not prevail.
There are three election statutes in Washington State for nullifying an election.
The statute that the proportional assignment applies to is one that states 'it appears that illegal votes were made as to change the outcome'. The interpretation of 'appears' is what is at issue. The alternative would be to depose each and every voter who voted illegally. That is impossible and violates a number of constitutional protections for the individual.
As to the statute referring to 'enough errors' or enough illegally cast ballots exceeding a margin of victory, that is also at issue. Democrats claim that this is not allowed because of the previous 'appears' statute. Also they claim that a 'no one knows who won' determination is not good enough.
Lastly, this is not new to Washington State. The same pattern of irregularities was evident in the Gorton-Cantwell US Senatorial race in 2000. Gorton did not contest as it was seen as too messy. That the Rossi camp has rallied a mathematical effort to get to the bottom of this mess is a credit to their due diligence. Should Rossi regain his Governor title, I believe he will be a great and memorable leader for this state because he has some real sharp people working on his behalf.